A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century

The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.

I learned a great deal from this book. I have been on a 14th Century Engalnd kick as of late, and this was a good book to explore the age from the French perspective. The main character lived through and experienced so many significant events.
The story gets a bit monotonous at times, especially in comparison to the book World Without End (on 14th Century England) that I read just before. A Distant Mirror is not a book you will be unable to put down. Still, I think it was a great complement to other books on the Plague and the 14th Century. There is also more real history here than in other selection on the period (e.g. The White Company & World Without End.)

The Prince of Tides

Spanning 40 years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister Savannah, and their struggle to triumph over the dark and tragic legacy of the extraordinary family into which they were born.

Brother Fish

From the author of The Power of One comes an inspiring human drama of three lives brought together and changed forever by the extraordinary events of recent history. Inspired by real events, Bryce Courtenay's new novel tells the story of three people from vastly differing backgrounds. All they have in common is a tough beginning in life.

This book starts out as a 5-star book. In the last third it slows down a bit as the story of the third main character is told first person past tense. This part loses some of the energy and character development. Overall, this is still a very good book which I'd recommend.

Kokoda (by Peter FitzSimons)

For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened and just what our troops achieved. Now, best-selling author Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story for all Australians.

Damascus Countdown: The Twelfth Imam Series, Book 3

Israel successfully launches a first strike on Iran, taking out all of their nuclear sites and six of their nuclear warheads. American president William Jackson threatens to support a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Jewish State for unprovoked and unwarranted acts of aggression. And the Twelfth Imam prepares to order a genocidal retaliation.

The Tehran Initiative

The world is on the brink of disaster. Iran has just conducted its first atomic weapons test. Millions of Muslims around the world are convinced their messiah — known as the Twelfth Imam — has arrived on earth. Israeli leaders fear Tehran, under the Twelfth Imam’s spell, will soon launch a nuclear attack that could bring about a second Holocaust and the annihilation of Israel.

While I would strongly recommend this book if you are reading the series, I found this one to be less political thriller and more Indiana Jones to the extreme. An archaeology expedition amidst dangers and villains is exciting, but I didn't feel that this book was quite as well written as the previous three.

The Ezekiel Option: Political Thrillers Series #3

With Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat out of the way, a dazzling era of security and prosperity seems to have come to the Middle East. With the help of an American president trying to spread freedom and democracy, the Israelis and the Palestinians have signed a historic peace agreement. Violence is down. Their economies are booming. But a new evil looms on the horizon.

The Last Days: Political Thrillers Series #2

Osama bin Laden is dead. Saddam Hussein is buried. Baghdad lies in ruins. Now the eyes of the world are on Jerusalem as Jon Bennett - a Wall Street strategist turned senior White House advisor - his beautiful CIA partner Erin McCoy, and the U.S. Secretary of State arrive in the Middle East to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The Last Jihad: Political Thrillers Series #1

Jon Bennett is a top Wall Street strategist turned senior White House advisor. But nothing has prepared him for the terror that he will face. Saddam Hussein dispatches his top hit men to assassinate the President of the United States. Iraqi terrorists spread carnage throughout London, Paris, and Riyadh...and the Butcher of Baghdad has a nuclear ace in his hand that he has not yet played.

QB VII

In Queen's Bench Courtroom Number Seven, famous author Abraham Cady stands trial. In his book The Holocaust - born of the terrible revelation that the Jadwiga Concentration camp was the site of his family's extermination - Cady shook the consciousness of the human race. He also named eminent surgeon Sir Adam Kelno as one of Jadwiga's most sadistic inmate/doctors. Kelno has denied this and brought furious charges. Now unfolds Leon Uris' riveting courtroom drama - one of the great fictional trials of the century.

The narration was superb with the exception of Abe's whiny Jewish voice.The story was well set up with the life of the plaintiff and of the defendant up to the trial. The trial itself came across as over-the-top Jewish propaganda. I usually like Uris's writing, especially in Exodus. This one is set up in its entirety to show how anti-Semitic views in even the most otherwise-noble person turn that person into an indescribably monster. I agree that the concentration camps were indescribably horrible and that the Jewish people were wronged as a race. However, this book is so one-sided in its defense of the Jews and its condemnation of others that it looses credibility. With that caveat, it is a story that will hold your interest (with the exception of the repetitive courtroom description of atrocities.)

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